Retaking Our Future
by Tazou
Summary: AU. Erika finds herself in a world unlike Earth. With the goal to return home, she meets new friends and enemies. However, as her days of waiting to return to Earth draw closer to an end, she may not actually want to leave.
1. Chapter 1

Under stained glass, a crystal was embraced by the sunlight which filtered through decorated windows. Brittle, pitiful, resilient— it rested on top of a pedestal. Erika was alone in this room appropriate for a fantasy film. Was she in one piece? Her arms and legs sported no injuries. She checked her pockets and frowned. No phone, no identification. The young woman remembered how she ended up in this situation.

Jobs, interviews, taxes— all heavy weights on her shoulder. A family reunion she expected. And the moment she stepped into the building of nostalgia, they would pester her with questions: What are your plans? Did you get accepted into graduate school? Are you interested in someone? To escape the acceptance of reality, Erika walked into the comfort of nature. The earthy smell of trees and a gentle breeze allowed her to forget. It was to forget the meaning of "an adult."

The awakening of dusk guided Erika back, but she took a detour. As a result, she found a fairy circle; curiosity led her to step into the ring of mushrooms. Fireflies swarmed from the surrounding trees before a light swallowed her whole.

"Miiko, I think it would be best to listen to my proposal."

"Poison...huh. Did you talk to Ykhar about it?"

A woman and man headed in Erika's direction. She hid behind the pedestal and heard their footsteps stop nearby. With a racing heart, Erika stole a peek. This 'Miiko' wore attire as if she were someone out of a Japanese historical drama, minus the fox ears, tails and an unusual stave; the other a uniform suited for an organization of scholars. His pointed ears looked too realistic, however.

"It falls within our budget," he said.

"There's no precedent of investing into poison besides for medicinal purposes."

" Aren't you erring on the side of caution? What good is a leader with a crumbling spine?"

"You asked for my opinion, Ezarel."

"I didn't ask for an indecisive one."

In that moment, the woman glanced toward Erika's hiding spot. Whispering ensued, and she failed to catch even a word. Erika held her breath while footsteps headed in another direction. Doors shut. Were they gone?

"I won't bite. Unless you're interested in stabbing me from behind."

Someone grabbed Erika, and she tried to run; however, nails dug into Erika's arm. The kitsune threw her to the side, and fire overflowed from the hanging cage attached to Miiko's stave. It dripped to the ground and spread like liquid. A strange chant reached Erika's ears, but before she recovered, fire erupted around her. Miiko watched as the girl trembled within a cage of azure flames.

"Will you tell me your name?"

"...E-Erika."

"State your purpose."

"I-I don't know. There was this ring of mushrooms and t-then these lights appeared…"

"I see." After moments of contemplation, the cage dissipated and Miiko held out her hand toward Erika. "Would you like a room to stay in?"

"…What? Why are you-"

"You appear to need a place to collect your thoughts. Do you feel unwell? We have an infirmary headed by our best nurse."

"…No thanks."

The doors opened again. Miiko spoke in an unfamiliar language to the newly arrived group of Ezarel and others. Meanwhile, Erika covered her mouth as the stench of blood wafted into her nose. It came from one cloaked in gray and black who noticed her. He smiled and revealed two, prominent fangs.

"Jamon, take this woman to one our spare rooms and stand guard. She's not to leave unless you're escorting her," Miiko said.

The ogre of the group grunted and made a gesture toward Erika. Everyone else stayed silent until she and Jamon left the room.

"The girl looked quite delicious. If you haven't come up with a plan, why don't you let me deal with her?"

Miiko sighed. "Nevra, now's not the time to be thinking of dinner. I asked how the girl suddenly came here, but I doubt she told me the truth."

"Ho, not throwing them into a prison cell like before? I'm very impressed," he said. "Who's to keep an eye on her? We are all very busy with the Guard's examinations."

Miiko set her gaze on Ezarel. He muttered something before he forced a smile.

"All right. Since no one else" —he glared at everyone else— "is speaking up, I'll take responsibility. But I want to discuss other matters first since we're all gathered here."

* * *

"This is room. Not allowed to leave. Yell if need something."

With the door shut behind her, Erika felt relieved. As if her encounter with Miiko was jarring, weirder people stared at her when she walked through the corridor. Some gazes were out of intrigue, out of hatred, or out of killing intent. She plopped onto the bed and further relaxed in the soft mattress. She looked at the other pieces of furniture. The room's décor felt reminiscent of a garden— not a speck of dust to be found either.

What sort of cosplayer convention is this place? Or maybe it's a dream. Maybe she fell asleep while in the woods. It wasn't the first time it happened, and lucid dreaming wasn't a stranger to Erika. Before she could think further, someone knocked on the door. That person with the scholar outfit entered. Neither made the initiative to speak first. Unable to bear a stifling silence, Erika coughed.

"You are...?"

"If you have any questions, please ask." He paused. "Oh, we should introduce ourselves. Ezarel."

"Erika. Why are you here?"

"...A sort of friend, if you want to think of it like that. Consider me an ally at least."

"And what is this place?"

"Eldarya. Specifically, you're in the General Headquarters located in the City of Eel. A makeshift home to different types of Faeries."

"Wait, Faeries?!"

"Chimera, werewolves, mermaids. You can meet all sorts of fantastical and mystical individuals."

"You're kidding! There's no way…" Her attention was drawn to Ezarel's appearance again.

"I'm not an elf? Oh, I assure you, I am. You could even touch my ears and find they're real. Then again, I don't like being touched, so that's not an option."

"Are you serious? …Even if this whole…Eldarya-thing isn't a joke— "

"It's not a joke, I'm afraid. This is reality. A hopeless reality, but reality nonetheless."

After a long series of questions and answers, complicated feelings bubbled within Erika. All the information she learned from Ezarel was still in the process of being accepted: maana, magic, the Guard of Eel, etc. The click of a door caught her attention.

"Where are you going?"

"I have business to attend. Shouldn't you ask what you're going to do?" Ezarel took a step outside. "In the case you start feeling more comfortable and want something to keep yourself occupied, I could use some assistance. Tell Jamon I asked you to go to the alchemy laboratory. Goodbye."

Erika began to massage her temples, and she even pinched herself. This wasn't a dream as much as she wished. After organizing her thoughts, she decided on one priority— she had to return home.

 **A/N:Hi! So, I decided to try and retell the main game plot in my own way. Thank you for reading the first chapter of this small project. Don't be shy to review the story at any point. And if you like, feel free to share this with your friends! I'll also be using these notes to add in supplemental lore/wordbuilding content to my AU. Feel free to skip those if you want, haha.**


	2. Chapter 2

Two days passed like falling sand granules in an hourglass. Erika asked if she could talk with Miiko multiple times, but Jamon gave a vague answer. With slight frustration, Erika was limited to her room; she learned to accept the long periods of isolation. Many of the Faeries said derogatory words or continued to stare. When she asked for a brief tour of the headquarters, one tried to attack her. Jamon fended off the individual and sent him to the prison, but the rest of the tour was cancelled. Erika curled into a ball and furrowed her brow. What if Miiko was purposefully avoiding her? Did that fox girl intend to keep her here forever? A surge of anger welled inside of Erika, but as she continued to think, the feeling subsided. She could ask someone else how to return. With an idea in mind, Erika got up from the bed.

"Jamon, can we go to the alchemy lab? Ezarel asked me to go there...to help with some stuff."

She followed him through the corridors. Erika attracted the gazes of passerby, but the lessened hostility allowed her to relax somewhat.

"You are the last meaning of my life, milady."

"Oh, Nevra…you know how much I hate liars."

"Since when have I ever lied? Milady, without you, my world is dull and boring."

Erika turned her head upward. It was that person whose clothes reeked of blood then accompanied by an eye-catching lass. The two, lost in a world of sickening declarations of love, continued to press against each other. His finger trailed along the lass's soft neck.

"May I?"

"I'll always offer my blood to you, darling."

Erika watched him bury his face into that woman's neck and looked away in disgust. There was a soft moan followed by coquettish laughter.

"Having fun? I was concerned you ditched Jamon when he showed up at the lab alone." Ezarel took long strides toward her, and when he took notice of Nevra and the woman, he sighed in exasperation. "That fool sure likes to chew on my subordinates. At this point, it'll be a miracle if he drank the blood of his own members."

"Can't he eat normal food?" Erika asked.

"It's ineffective in satiating his hunger. Only blood can make a vampire feel full."

Meanwhile, Nevra had stopped drinking. The girl in his arms clung to him, and he said honeyed words into her ear. She giggled. Ezarel murmured a few words, and a sphere of water the size of a bowling ball formed. With a flick, it flew and struck the wall behind the lass. She shrieked; Nevra pulled away with a look of annoyance. Erika turned to see Ezarel had begun to walk away with a snicker, and she hurried after him.

"How'd you do that?"

"I used maana to condense the moisture in the air. You know, magic," he said.

"…Okay, but I thought elves have a greater connection with nature? Wouldn't it make more sense to-"

"Whatever you learned about us comes from misguided stereotypes made by humans."

"Oh…So can you do more than make bubbles and ruin romantic rendezvous?"

When they reached the alchemy laboratory, a sudden rush of wind blew the doors open. Ezarel sauntered in without casting a glance at a dumbfounded Erika. Flasks, tubes, scattered equipment—it almost felt as if she entered one of her university's labs. As she stepped into the room, Erika felt another gust of wind shut the doors behind her.

" I need you to collect these books from the library. Do you know where that is?"

He handed a piece of parchment to Erika. She took the object and glanced at the handwriting; she couldn't read any of the words, but that didn't detract from its elegance.

"…Yeah. Before I go, can I ask something?"

"You already did, but sure."

"Is there any possibility I can go home? My parents and friends..."

"You can go through a portal. However, we just used our remaining resources to create one a month ago. My apologies, Erika, but you're going to have to wait until we gather enough material again."

With crushed hope and an unhappy heart, Erika left. The parchment crinkled in her hand. Would her mother be all right? And what about Father? When she arrived at the library, Erika's jaw dropped. A city of knowledge encompassed an upper and lower floor which were connected by a spiral staircase. Bookcases akin to skyscrapers reached toward the ceiling. Books stuffed every row while some were stacked in piles.

Two people surrounded by documents sat at a table were during an argument. Erika tried to be wallpaper in hopes it would be resolved soon; however, the debate escalated into politics and finances with no definitive conclusion. She cleared her throat.

"May I bother you two for a moment?"

They turned their attention to her. One, who reminded Erika of a kindergarten teacher, took a deep breath and smiled at her.

"I'm Ykhar. Do you need help with anything?"

"I have this list here..."

The piece of paper was handed to her. As Ykhar scrutinized the writing, Erika shifted in awkward silence. Loose papers and dusty tomes overflowed from a shelf; other shelves shared a similar condition. Unrecognizable characters decorated some spines, and Erika felt surprised how some were written in her language.

"Do you want to borrow a book?"

Erika saw the other person looking at her. While Ykhar began to say something under her breath, he set a piece of paper and writing utensil.

"Just read the terms and sign your name. You're only allowed to borrow one book right now, but if you've shown you can return them by the due date consistently, we let you borrow more out at a time. My name is Keroshane, but feel free to call me Kero."

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Erika," she said as she skimmed the paper and signed her name.

"Kero, go help her find these books. I'll handle our work here," she said.

Erika followed him through the aisles. He handed her catalogues, botany manuals, and fragile journals. Some books toppled from the shelves, but a force caught their fall and placed them back onto the shelf. Kero's horn emitted a faint light whenever it happened. By the time they found all the necessary material, beams of sunset filtered through the library window.

"It must be convenient to use…magic like that." Erika set the stack of books onto a table.

"Haha, I guess. I can't do much compared to others who can manipulate wind or fire."

"So elves…"

"Usually Faeries use the maana stored in their body to cast magic which can leave anyone exhausted after a few spells. Elves are one of the races who can gather maana from outside sources like plants or the air. While all Faeries have an affinity to an element, elven culture upholds elemental specialization."

"Can they only focus on using one type of elemental magic?"

"There are uncommon cases where an elf controls more than one. I think the current sovereign of the elves can use all five? However, those elves have more difficulty controlling their magic compared to one who just uses one element. In fact," — Kero reached for an item on a shelf — "you can read more about it in this book. Why don't you borrow it for your first visit at the library?"

Erika agreed and thanked him before she returned to the laboratory. Ezarel didn't greet her as he grinded something with a mortar and pestle. She set the books in a corner except for the one Kero gave. Its cover had no writing but instead a picture; when Erika opened the book, her eyes widened at readable text. She flipped through the pages to see all of it written in her language.

"Tomorrow, you're going with me to the marketplace."

"…I would rather have a portal prepared to send me back."

Ezarel paused and looked at her. "You can mope in your room and wait, or you can help around here to make waiting more tolerable. The choice is yours."

"Can't I help you guys gather material quicker to make the portal?"

"It's not under my authority. Even then, few Faeries want a human's aid."

"What about you?"

He shrugged. "As long as you don't murder or vandalize anything, I could care less."

* * *

"Is that all to report?"

"Yes. Unless you two would like to add something," Ezarel said.

"I just...feel it's wrong to do these sorts of things behind her back. Is it really necessary?" Kero let out a sigh.

"Better safe than sorry. Could she be using a fake name?"

"I'm not sure. But few human spies think to use one," Ykhar said.

"And no signs of communications during the night?"

"Nevra and Lefitan reported nothing so far, Miiko."

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for reading! Hopefully I can complete this story in the end, haha. Also, there will be some different characterization/ character development changes compared to the game. I hope it will make the reading experience more interesting.**

 **So in my AU, Earth was rich in maana, which led to the existence of Faeries being born. Eventually, there was this "Era of Primordial Magic" when Faeries coexisted with humans. The Faeries were in three factions headed by three powerful races: Dragons, Daemons, Fenghuang who then agreed to form a central government to rule over all Faeries. The peace between Faeries and humans lasted for hundreds of years, but humans began to fear the Faeries. This later developed into what's later known as "The Primordial Wars." The Faeries were defeated and had to leave Earth (which was now exhausted of all maana) in an event known as "The Great Exile." The Dragons and Daemons swore an oath to sacrifice themselves in order for a new world to be born-one all Faeries could call a home. The Fenghuang would be the reigning government in that realm; however, the leadership of the Daemons passed onto an ambitious individual who had no interest in honoring this vow. In the end, the Dragons sacrificed themselves while the Daemons did not, and the new world, Eldarya, was unstable. The Fenghuang and other Faerie races, enraged, killed the Daemons and harvested their maana. Using that maana and the maana from those who died during the hunts, the Fenghuang managed to create the Great Crystal, which brought stability to Eldarya. Yet once all the Faeries began to inhabit this new world, individual Faerie races grew hostile toward one another. The Fenghuang government soon collapsed, and another era of war began. This resulted in each Faerie species having its own government, societal rules, and territories. For those who had no home after the battles, they founded the City of Eel which became its own independent civilization.**

 **Also, the Era of Primordial Magic was the start of spells and magic. They utilized runes, incantations, and maana; while current magic in Eldarya has moved away from the rune system, these spells aren't as strong as their ancestral counterparts.**

 **There are three types of magic: Elemental, Psyche, Odde. Elemental magic is composed of five categories (fire, water, wind, earth, quintessence/aether), followed by sub-categories, but earth and fire lack a sub-category. Lightning magic is a sub-category of wind, and ice magic a sub-category of water. Aether has three: light, darkness, sound.**

 **On a side note, Dragons had an affinity with Earth and Water; Daemons, an affinity with Wind and Aether. Fenghuangs have an affinity to Fire and Aether.**

 **Psyche magic is mainly spells for brainwashing, possessions, illusions, but also include telepathy and telekinesis. Many rituals require the use of a magical object to succeed.**

 **Odde magic can be treated as the classification for spells that don't fit into Elemental magic or Psyche. Magical enchantments and magical contracts/pacts are examples. Magical contracts need a specific item to facilitate the connection between individuals, but vampires are the only race who can bypass this by using blood as a catalyst.**


	3. Chapter 3

A reflection of uncertainty gazed back at Erika. Had her parents noticed she was gone? Her friends? Did they find anything unusual when they found their texts have yet to receive a response? Noisy ruminations crossed her mind while she sat across Ezarel. Aside from the stirring of a spoon, they exchanged little words beyond a greeting.

"I didn't poison the tea if that's on your mind."

She looked up to see Ezarel's stoic expression. "But that doesn't mean you could've put something else. Like drugs? A new potion?"

He smiled. "I always ask for consent when it comes to that."

Regardless, Erika narrowed her eyes at the cup. Temperature, smell, appearance— it was the same as any other tea. With hesitance, she took a sip. A sweet taste lingered on her tongue, and soon the whole cup was empty.

"Did you add sugar in this?"

"Honey, but I did use a few herbs," he said before he took a drink out of his cup. "Don't expect me to brew this all the time."

"You need me to bribe you?" She met the sight of his mirthful expression with her own. "So…it's the marketplace…"

"Correct, but you're going to have to wear this." Ezarel handed her a hooded cloak with fur lining. "I'm sure you've noticed the hostility around you. And if I heard correctly, someone tried to attack you before? Considering there's more civilians out during this hour, it'd be better not to draw attention. I'd prefer not to encounter another riot." He continued to talk when she gave a perplexed face. "You're neither the first nor the last human to arrive here accidentally. Many met an untimely end if they didn't return home."

"But Miiko is your supreme commander? I think she has it under control."

It was in that moment, Ezarel let out a laugh— the sort of laugh that lasted too long and held no humor. Even his smile became stiff. "If only you knew what she's done before because of her inexperience. It's a miracle she finally learned how important common sense is."

"But you still listen to Miiko, right?"

"I don't have a choice in leaders. Even if I did, it would unfortunately still be her."

Erika made no comment as she put on the cloak. After she tied it and pulled the hood over her head, she followed Ezarel out of the headquarters. Cobblestone and grass gave way to stores and incessant chatter. Curiosity sparkled in her eyes as she lingered in front of windows. Exotic clothing, jewelry, food— to an extent, it felt like Christmas shopping with her friends.

"Is it really that interesting?"

"The designs are different from what I'm used to. I suppose this is how it feels to be studying abroad or in another country..."

"You'll have time to browse later. Let's go."

Ezarel visited the stores and stalls that offered bundles of material or test tubes; Erika carried the lighter items in bags. They exchanged more words until they returned to the headquarters. In the alchemy laboratory, items from dried herbs to suspicious liquids lay on a table. She stretched her arms while Ezarel pulled out a list to mark off.

"Now that shopping is over, we can start-"

A loud explosion interrupted him, and he cursed under his breath.

"Tch...You're to return to your room. Don't let anyone suspicious in."

"What about you?"

"Obviously, I have to go in the direction of the sound."

Erika was ushered out; Ezarel locked the doors to the alchemy laboratory before he broke into a sprint. Once she returned to her room, Erika found a spare chair and put it against the door. A surprising sight greeted her as she looked out the window. Several houses fed flames amongst fleeing faeries; children cried, and small groups watched the burning buildings. A masked figure headed away from the disaster; he made eye contact with Erika. She drew the curtain. Did he see her? Should she check? Erika pondered for a moment but decided to lay on her bed. Minutes passed before someone knocked on the door.

"It's me, Kero. Are you all right?"

"Yeah. What about everyone else?"

"It's nothing too bad, could've been worse. We have orders to stay inside while the leaders try to calm everyone," Kero said. "May I come in?"

Kero approached the windows and parted the curtains after she opened the door. She walked to see what caught his attention. Columns of smoke rose in the air. A crying family stood in front of debris once known as a house. Nearby, she spotted familiar faces such as Ezarel in front of a group of Faeries; however, the fox girl was nowhere to be found.

"Where's Miiko?"

"Ah…Ever since an assassin tried to kill her during an event, she has others handle the public. She's probably talking to Leiftan and Ykhar about rebuilding right now."

"But that was one person. Unless she managed to anger everyone that badly…"

"The Guard of Eel faced an uprising when it was known Miiko would be the next leader. We managed to suppress the rebels, but…the ones who really felt the consequences were the civilians. Then other things happened…Miiko decided it would be better if she minimalized her public appearances."

They watched until the crowd dispersed. Though she couldn't see every single expression, many of them were frowning. Someone called for Kero; he promised to talk to her more often before leaving. Erika continued to watch for another minute and then closed the curtains.

* * *

 **A/N:I wonder if people actually read these, haha.**

 **So the government in the City of Eel is managed by the Eel Guard/Guard of Eel. It consists of four sectors: Light, Absynthe, Shadow, Obsidian. All members have practical outfits unique to their sector, and all are required to have basic combat training.**

 **The Light Guard is in charge of the other three sectors. Members from Absynthe, Shadow, and Obsidian can be promoted into the Light Guard if they make a significant contribution to the city. Miiko leads the Light Guard. Other duties of the Light Guard include diplomacy, education, finances, censuses, civil service exams, and improving the standard of living.**

 **The Absynthe Guard is led by Ezarel and focuses on medicine and alchemy. They often perform experiments with potions or manage small clinics. They manage a sanctuary where abandoned familiars live as well as this greenhouse facility where their herbs are grown.**

 **The Shadow Guard is basically a large network of spies. They use multiple codes and ciphers in communicating back to the Light Guard. Aside from gathering information and monitoring potential threats, they have members involved in treasure hunting. There used to be a unit specialized in assassinations, but it was dissolved when Nevra became leader.**

 **The Obsidian Guard has Valkyon as leader, and their focus is on combat. A portion of members are blacksmiths while everyone else are combat experts. They're the main force of security.. There's also tournaments they manage, and the Obsidian Guard rewards those who manage to win.**


	4. Chapter 4

Erika, perhaps to escape from the situation out of her control, made daily visits to Ezarel which resulted in some form of work. Proofreading, buying, taking inventory— she wondered if she would do more than those menial tasks. At this point, Jamon no longer had to escort her, but her freedom remained limited. She wore the cloak whenever she had to leave the building, and it bothered her that someone else had to accompany every trip.

She wiped the sweat off her brow and descended from the ladder. "Ez, I finished organizing the ingredients and recipes. Is there anything else you need me to do?"

"Not that I can think of. If only I could boss you around more." He turned the page of an old tome and said, "For tomorrow, you're to report to Nevra at the library."

"That's cute." She frowned when Ezarel said nothing. "You're not joking? ...Why? And does it have to be him?"

"I have to manage the exams of the Absynthe Guard. Since Shadow Guard finished theirs last week, naturally there's nothing else for that vampire to do."

"Can't I help Ykhar or Kero instead?"

"Both are currently overseeing the construction of new houses. Are you worried Nevra will pounce you? Don't hesitate to beat him up if it happens."

"...I don't know any self-defense."

"Hm, that is a problem. Try throwing whatever you can at him then. As an incentive, I'll make sure to keep you updated on the progress in making another portal. However, I won't hesitate to withhold information if you start complaining."

"Fine…"

The next day, she felt disappointed neither Kero nor Ykhar were there to greet her; however, the table they normally occupied was taken over by towers of papers. They didn't reach the ceiling, but Erika estimated it was half her height.

"Nevra?"

An arm waved behind a stack. Full of reluctance, Erika took a few steps in his direction. The strong scent of cologne made her scrunch her nose. He finished writing on a scroll before unfolding another one.

"I overheard your conversation with our elven beauty," he said. "I ate earlier, but if you were to say, offer- "

"I'm not interested."

"Hah, I can smell the apprehension that's coming from you...I'm curious actually." He put his chin in his hand. "What do you think of me?"

"I'd rather not be in the same room as you."

With that, Nevra grinned and returned his attention back to the document in front of him.

"See the rubber stamp over there? Pick a pile of papers that has my signature already and stamp next to it," he said. "Then place those papers somewhere on the floor."

While they worked, Nevra continued to find different topics to talk about with Erika. She felt the tension ease between them and began to give longer responses. He answered her questions about vampires with amusement while he asked about her personal life.

"Can I ask something?"

"Go for it." He leaned back in his chair and stretched.

"Why do you have so much paperwork in the first place?"

"Mm...You have a basic idea of how the Eel Guard works?" Erika nodded before he said, "I barely have a month before I'm on some continent gathering intel for who knows how long."

"Have you asked for a vacation?"

"It only takes a day or two to catch up. After that, I spend the remaining time with family."

Erika forced back a pang of emotion at the mention of 'family.' It was possible time passed quicker in Eldarya than back home. Maybe only an hour flew by on Earth. She resumed working in silence, as if a repetitive task could distract her. Despite there was still unfinished work, Nevra escorted her to the alchemy laboratory.

"Ez-babe, I brought back the girl unhurt," he said as he threw the door open. "C'mon, join me for drinks. It's been far too long. Oh, you're free to join too, Erika."

"Didn't I say not to call me that in front of others? Or at all for that matter." The elf shut the book in his hands and grimaced. "I'll politely decline. Please leave already."

After Nevra was pushed out, Ezarel grumbled. He turned his attention to Erika.

"...How was it?"

"He's tolerable when it comes to work, surprisingly."

"As long as it doesn't interfere with his personal life. But you should be careful when he's looking for a meal. It's not hard for him to persuade someone to offer blood. Regardless, I need you to accompany me now."

When Ezarel walked through the doors with Erika, Miiko and others were waiting. Nevra winked in his direction. After the introductions of Valkyon who wore a full suit of armor and Leiftan, Erika stayed close to the elf. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Since you were informed the circumstances on getting you home, we decided to ask what you want to do in the meantime," Miiko said.

"We could continue this system of having a cute assistant at our service, though?" Nevra paused. "But I expect that won't happen."

"While we can't speed up the process of gathering materials for the sake of a human, we should at least provide some form of compensation," Leiftan winked at Erika. "Please, tell us what we can do to make this stay better."

"Well, since I can't go home soon enough…Can't I have more freedom to move around here? I don't like having to be escorted outside or being stuck in my room."

"I can't authorize that because of security reasons," Miiko said.

"…How about making her a temporary member? She gets more breathing room through that, but we can revoke the status immediately if she causes trouble," Leiftan said.

"But I still just can't give it to her. It's not fair to others."

"She can go through a short trial period. Rather than have Kero do the compatibility test, have him assign her a practice mission. He can help, but only if it's necessary." Leiftan saw the others seem in agreement. He smiled at Erika. "How does that sound?"

Erika suppressed the urge to complain. The whole 'human' excuse irked her, but this offer was better than the current life she had here. She came to an answer after thinking about it more.

"I'll agree to those terms."

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry if so far the story feels like a slow start, haha. Then again, the actual beginning part of the actual game was also sort of slow? Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a comment.**


	5. Chapter 5

Behind walls, milky like chalk, a sanctuary isolated from the Guard of Eel lived in peace. He opened the gate and gestured for her to go first. Reptilian birds passed overhead, and cuddly creatures darted from vibrant flora. Some played by an artificial stream; Erika spotted a small cave in the distance.

"All members of the Guard of Eel have a companion. Typically, I would give you an egg and incubator…but since that familiar would end up here in the end, I thought temporarily adopting one is better," Kero said.

"What is the place exactly?"

"This is where all companions go when their owner to take care of them anymore. Just pick one and we can get started on your trial mission."

Erika started to explore. A rabbit with horns appeared, but it dashed away the moment they made eye contact. Meanwhile, Kero had entered a small shed and brought out a tray of food. Already companions flocked to the spread of food and tried to open the containers. After helping them eat their meals, he noticed Erika's interactions with a pair of Lovigis. She patted both of their heads, and both birds nuzzled her in return.

"So have you decided?"

"On these two? They were the first to not run away from me," she said.

"It's a good choice. Lovigis are very rare."

After the two left, Kero briefed her on what her mission entailed. The Lovigis followed her.

"So... I need to help this kid basically. And you said his name was Mery?"

They arrived at a small settlement of houses. Faeries in armor patrolled the perimeter; Erika readjusted her hood and kept her head down whenever one passed her. Few civilians were out of their houses, and almost all of them eyed the patrols. The two reached a house by the edge of the settlement. In the front yard, a blonde child drew pictures in the dirt. When he looked up and spotted Kero, he ran up to him.

"Sorry I couldn't visit sooner. Oh, here's my friend. She's going to help you find your Crylasm," Kero said.

"But Kero, she's wearing weird clothing!"

"That wasn't nice, Mery! How would you feel if someone said that to you?"

Erika smiled albeit the corners of her mouth twitched. "Let's get along." She held out her hand. The boy huffed and said nothing else; he refused to touch Erika.

"Why don't you help your mother around the house?" Kero maintained a serene smile. "By the time you finish, we'll be back with your friend. Don't you think that's better than waiting around?"

"Okay!"

Mery ran back into his house. Once the door shut, the two sighed.

"Does his Crylasm have a collar or a bow?"

"We're not finding the one he lost. Which is where, ahem, your mission comes in. You have to catch a Crylasm." He handed her a small pouch. "Here's the money to buy the bait at the market. Unfortunately, now you're on your own."

"Really? Can't do anything more?"

Kero gestured for Erika to come closer. In a hushed tone, he said, "Nevra would find out and report it, and your chances of becoming a member would be void. And I would get into trouble myself..."

"He's here?!"

"Not so loud! And no, but members of his Guard are. I saw him order some of them to make sure I didn't give you more help than I was told to."

"Thanks for making me feel paranoid."

"Sorry! But if it makes you feel better, you're not the only one who feels that way. The refugees have made complaints about undercover members, but Nevra's just following instructions." With a sudden movement, Kero straightened his posture and coughed. "Anyway, you should get going! I'll stay here and wait for your return. You remember my explanation on how explorations work, right?"

"Yeah, I think so...I'll make sure to come back quickly."

She waved goodbye and headed to the marketplace. The place was stocked with shoppers, but Erika couldn't help but scan her surroundings on occasion. Were people following her? But they wouldn't make it so obvious. Erika grumbled. She recalled one visit to some pet shop where Ezarel asked for the owner's opinion on something. Perhaps she would get the bait there.

"Look, kid, I won't go any lower."

When Erika found the store, a boy with dog ears and an orange cat stood in front of the entrance. The boy was the first to notice her.

"What do you want?"

"...Just trying to get through," Erika said.

"Hey, are you interested in buying something?" The orange cat's tail wagged.

"Purral, our business isn't done!

Erika crossed her arms. "What are both of you trying to do exactly?"

"He's trying to buy a navigation kit, but can't pay the lowest price. What a waste of time."

"Do you only accept money?" she asked.

"I take into consideration rare valuables. Do you have any, kid?"

"I only have a bag of Gallflores, but..."

"If you give me the whole thing, I'll give you this kit. That's as far as I'll go for."

The boy grumbled before he took out a sack. Purral took it and gave him a wooden box. Erika watched the dog-eared child open and look through its contents. The cat said the usual greeting of a satisfied businessman before he left.

"Great, I have to deal with an earful from the skirt chaser now..." He glanced at Erika. "You should've stayed out of this."

"I would've been standing for more than an hour then."

"There's no harm in asking! What if I didn't want your help?"

"But you got what you wanted, right? Can I enter the shop now..."

"Hmph. Chrome."

"Erika."

She moved around him and entered the building. Erika talked to the clerk about the bait for a Crylasm; she bought it without a hassle. While she chatted with Purreru as he recorded her purchase into a book, Chrome had followed her into the store. With the golden shears, she headed to the garden area of General Headquarters. Erika handed the bait to the two birds.

"You can understand me, right?" The Lovigis blinked. "...Just try to find a Crylasm. It's a sheep with wings."

The companion flew away with the item; a few minutes passed before the birds returned with a wooly, blue egg. Erika congratulated herself and headed back to the house where Kero was waiting. He sat on the porch with a basket-like object.

"Welcome back! I see you were successful," he said.

"Mm, yeah. Now what?" She handed the egg to him.

He placed it into the basket. "I have to report to Miiko and everyone else. And once we settle whatever's left, you're officially a temporary member."

Once the Crylasm hatched, Kero called for Mery. The child peeked past the door before running out to hug the sheep. Erika forced a grin. He was cute, though his attitude could use some work. A drop of nostalgia reminded Erika of herself as a child. She missed those times where "adulthood" was a distant dream on the checklist of society.

Kero coughed. "Mery, do you want to say anything?"

He looked at Kero, then at Erika. "Thank you for finding my friend. And...um..." Mery pulled on Kero's clothes. "I... have something to give to you." He reached into his pocket and took out something. He opened his palm; Kero made a surprised expression while Erika scrutinized the two crystal shards in Mery's hand. She took them and thanked Mery.

As they headed back, Kero still appeared in a daze.

"...Are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh...Yes. I just couldn't believe he found two pieces so easily..."

"What do you mean?"

"Before you came along, the Great Crystal was attacked. The one you might've seen in the room where the Guard leaders gather. Pieces of it scattered to different parts of the world. So, on top of the responsibilities the Guard of Eel already has, we also need to find all the pieces."

"And why is this Great Crystal important?"

"It stabilizes the flow of maana in Eldarya. Now that it's been damaged, many lands suffer an imbalance of maana. Too much or too little can prove detrimental to a Faerie. Cases of insanity or aggression are already on the rise."

They entered the Crystal Room, and Kero made his report to Miiko. Ezarel along with Nevra, Valkyon, and Leiftan listened to the details.

"I see. Since you've completed the task, I approve of your temporary membership. Erika, now you need to select which Guard to join."

"You have three options," Leiftan said. "Ezarel manages the Absynthe Guard, Nevra handles the Shadow Guard, and Valkyon leads the Obsidian Guard."

"I'll go with Absynthe..."

"Aw, she picked you. I'm jealous," Nevra said.

"I'd rather have that than you bragging about her joining your Guard to my face."

"Oh, and another thing..." Kero nudged Erika before he said, "Pieces of the crystal were found."

She presented the shards in front of them. Miiko swiped the shards from Erika and inspected each. Then, the kitsune neared the pedestal; the two crystal pieces glowed and soon merged with the Great Crystal. Erika almost shrieked when a ghostly creature manifested before her. It appeared to be a woman, and Erika strained to hear what the apparition said. The specter disappeared in an instant. Everyone else stood with mixed expressions.

"Ezarel..." Miiko clenched the staff in her hand. "Make the test that detects the presence of Faerie blood."

"Excuse me?"

 **A/N: Don't forget to leave a comment!**


	6. Chapter 6

"Did I stutter?"

"You think she has Faerie blood?"

"The Oracle doesn't just appear in front of anyone," Miiko said. "Don't tell me you're going to throw a tantrum over this as well."

"What do I get it out of it? Alchemy ingredients are already hard to find," Ezarel said.

"I'll authorize funding the poison research if she's not a Faerie. If she is, you owe me a favor."

"Deal. Erika, come with me."

She felt glad she could leave the suffocating room. The gusts of wind that opened and closed the doors almost threatened to rip them off their hinges.

"Do you need me to go to a store or anything?"

"You shouldn't be worried about collecting those. Now that you're...one of us, you have a schedule to follow. Ykhar will go over it with you."

When Erika walked into the library, the brownie waved from the table. She beamed as Erika took a seat.

"Congratulations! You have no idea how excited I am right now."

"Just for going over some schedule?"

"I would rather do this than the other things I've had to do. So, the leaders refined what a temporary membership entailed while you were helping Mery since it was an outdated system before. You won't need an escort to accompany you" — Ykhar placed a sheet of paper in between them— "and you'll have free access to all our facilities. Also, I decided not to make this too different from what you've already been doing. You'll have combat lessons, help me and Kero in the library, and finish the day with Ezarel."

Erika skimmed through the paper. "What does 'exemption from examinations' mean?"

"We have examinations for all members of the Guards. Certain scores allow for promotion to the next rank until pro tempore, which is the rank underneath being the leader of Obsidian Guard for example. There's another series of tests and other things to become an official pro tempore, and whoever holds that rank is to succeed the leader position once the current leader retires or passes away. We haven't had a pro tempore ever since Valkyon became leader...But you don't have to worry about it! Usually the incentive to take these exams is for a higher allowance."

"So I'm just stuck with whatever I'm given."

"Basically. Oh, and you can't take missions unless you have approval from Ezarel."

After reviewing other pieces on information, Erika returned to her room. She looked over the schedule again; it felt as if she took a step back into her undergraduate years. From the excitement of graduation to the struggle of studying, those memories flickered as if an old streetlight. Erika sighed and reread the paper.

The next morning broke the blanket of a starry night; what greeted Erika at the training area was a surprise. Unlike dainty women who moved in the direction of the wind, a charismatic and proud Faerie held her hand out. She introduced herself as a hamadryad.

"Cameria. I'll be teaching you how to defend yourself and maybe even how to use a weapon."

It was a firm handshake followed by a torturous experience. They did stretches, laps around headquarters, other strenuous, physical activity. For encouragement, Cameria joined for the second and third laps. The only sense of reprieve was the five-to-ten minute breaks. By the time Erika reported to the library, she wanted to lay on the floor and stay there. She rested her head on the desk. Ykhar was about to hand Erika a stack of documents but stopped.

"Are you okay?"

"...I've never felt so out of shape in my life," Erika said.

"Do you want someone else to handle your lessons?"

Erika shook her head. "Cameria was right in saying I need to build stamina. But I wasn't expecting the self-defense part to come near the end."

"Haha, sometimes your chances of survival are better in surrendering or giving up."

"She said that!"

Ykhar winked. "Everyone went through the same process, whether it was with Cameria or not. Now it's time to help me organize these lesson plans."

"Lesson plans?"

"I help with educating the Faeries who can't read. It's…how I got into the Shining Guard in the first place."

After Ykhar gave instructions, Erika began to sift through the papers. Writing practice, math, history—these lessons appeared to encompass everything. At some point, Erika's stomach grumbled to Ykhar's amusement. The brownie volunteered to fetch some rations; as Erika waited, a certain stack caught her attention. Much of the writing looked like the exact letters Ezarel wrote onto that list.

"What's so interesting?" Ykhar returned with a small tray of food. She saw where Erika was staring. "Ah, that's elven script."

"It looks really pretty," Erika said.

"Mhm, but I did ask Eweleïn to write those."

"Why?"

Ykhar responded with a sheepish smile. "Anything I write in that language is scarily illegible. But that doesn't mean I'm a poor educator!"

"Can you...teach me? If it won't conflict with your work or anything."

"Of course! But my job in the library comes first, okay?

When Erika left, she held a copy of lessons and a homework assignment. She pulled open the doors to the alchemy laboratory. Ezarel has his back turned; however, she noticed Miiko and Leiftan were also in the room.

"Are you done yet?"

"Miiko, you can't rush-"

"Maybe you should try and make this test yourself, Miiko." Ezarel turned around with a flask in his hand. He shook it before beckoning Erika to come closer. "Hold out your hand."

He poured a small amount from the flask, and the liquid vanished when it touched her skin.

"Now what?" Erika checked her hand.

"We wait. If a flame appears, the test is positive. Though, I honestly doubt you have Faerie blood." He glared at Miiko. "Did Nevra already depart to Balenvia?"

"Yes. Hopefully, we hear from him soon. Valk is training the new patrol members in the meantime," Leiftan said.

"And what will you do to stay productive?" Miiko raised an eyebrow.

The three continued a small conversation, but the air's stagnancy bothered Erika. Several minutes passed with no results.

"Well, I guess-"

A green flame covered Erika's hand for a few seconds. She muffled the urge to scream; the three Guard members held different reactions. Miiko's smile widened while Ezarel showed a moment of surprise.

"Fufu, looks like I win. I'll be using that personal favor now." She took out an accessory braided with multiple beads. The reds and oranges shined in her hand.

"Since when did you carry a kumihimo made of magatama beads?" Ezarel eyed the object.

"It's a gift for...a friend. Your family is well-known for enchanting items to have a resistance to magic, right?"

"Within the realm of elemental magic, yes. But if you want that thing to protect against Psyche magic, shouldn't you ask Huang Hua?"

Miiko made a dismissive gesture before she set the kumihimo onto the table. "What's the strongest enchantment you can do?"

"A protective barrier. It will nullify any elemental spell or weaken the effects at least. In the circumstance the spell is of a superior tier, it'll protect the wearer once before shattering."

"Will it be broken permanently?"

"Do you doubt my skill? The barrier will simply take time to recover. The process would be accelerated if fed a source of maana, which is solved with the magatama gathering it from the air."

Meanwhile, Erika remained quiet. She was part Faerie? The strange eye color she and her grandmother shared. But how could have that had any connection to Faeries? A hand touched her shoulder.

"I'll escort you back to your room," Leiftan said.

They walked in silence; Erika used the key to her room and opened the door. Leiftan followed her inside. She sat on the edge of her bed.

"How are you feeling?"

"I... I don't know. Faerie? I'm actually a Faerie?"

"Well, you're a Faelienne to be exact. Half-human and half-Faerie."

"...What about the kind of Faerie?"

"We can't determine that easily. We don't even know Valkyon's race. I'll do some research for you, though," he said.

"...Thanks. Um...What about you?"

"I'm not Faelien sadly. Lorialet."

They conversed for a bit before he returned to Ezarel and Miiko. Erika paced her room to make sense of what happened, but in the end, she took a stroll through the gardens to calm her brewing emotions. While the decorations were not as effective as a landscape of trees and flowers, it soothed Erika. Did her parents know about Faeries? What about her grandmother?

* * *

 **A/N: I hope the pacing isn't too awful, pffft. I hope the chapter after this will actually be exciting for all of you!**

 **So, enchantment magic has its roots back to the Era of Primordial Magic. Ezarel is actually a distant descendant of the one who discovered it. Objects can be magical either through enchantments or have natural, magic properties. The ones that are naturally magical are hard to find nowadays because of the two periods of war the Faeries experienced. Many are presumed lost. Examples of objects that naturally have magical properties would be water from the Fountain of Life or Excalibur's sheath.**

 **Enchantments can be permanent or temporary, but both require a large amount of maana. Temporary enchantments require a steady flow from the person who cast the spell. Permanent ones work differently but use the maana of its wearer. Permanent enchantments "recognize" their owners through placing a drop of blood on the item.**


	7. Chapter 7

One month, two months, five months. Ezarel couldn't give her an estimated time as to when they could create another portal to send her home; she found relief in her schedule. While she felt sore after every session with Cameria, she learned more than about self-defense. After a practice round and running, the hamadryad showed Erika the armory in the headquarters.

"Since you've proven yourself able to defend yourself without a weapon, I think it's time to teach you how to use one. Go ahead and choose," Cameria said.

Bows, hammers, daggers— Erika settled on a one-handed sword. Cameria complimented the choice but mentioned a good foundation of basics came first. She gave Erika a wooden sword for practice. On the other hand, Ykhar was pleased with Erika's progress in learning how to write. They moved onto learning basic vocabulary.

Erika finished all her work in the library. She sneezed after cleaning the duster and was surprised to find Ezarel seated in a table far from the shelves; his attention focused on the parchment in front of him.

"Why are you here?"

Ezarel picked up another scroll. "I'm analyzing the recent reports of missing children. Miiko wants me to investigate the cause and eliminate it if possible."

"Rather be doing something else, huh."

"You know me so well."

"It's a little odd to see you not in the lab. Do you want help or anything?" Erika frowned at the scattered scrolls and pictures on the table.

"Hm, I would normally accept, but this task is classified as a mission. There's a different process for making a single-person mission be handled by two people. If you really want to do this, find an appeal in that stash over there." With a quill pen, he pointed to a basket. "Give it to Ykhar after filling it out."

Erika managed to find a form in her language and wrote the necessary information. She asked Ezarel for clarification on certain sections; once Ykhar returned, Erika gave her the paper. She read it before glancing between Erika and him.

"I made this choice, Ykhar. Not to mention, I find it inefficient to make a single person investigate a large case," Erika said.

"...I wasn't going to stop you. Good luck," Ykhar stamped the form and stowed it away.

Erika then pulled over a chair and sat across from the elf. "What do you have so far?"

He briefed her over the current information: three weeks of some children's disappearing. No evidence left by the culprit. Parents continued to grow restless and threatened to hold a protest; Nevra would be assigned these types of missions, but he was ordered to assess the situation in Balenvia.

"Is there a pattern on which kids are being kidnapped?"

"Oh? That's one way to think of it."

They bounced off ideas and shuffled through all the reports. At some point, Ezarel cast a spell on the quill pen; it emitted a bluish glow and would record important information onto a blank parchment. They found leads, yet most led to dead ends. The past incidents ended with the children following someone into the forest. With the amount of time gone, Erika insisted on a break to which Ezarel agreed. The pen continued to write.

"Will it be like that forever?"

"Once I stop feeding it maana, it'll be back to normal." To demonstrate, the glow disappeared, and the pen fell.

"So, when Miiko asked to enchant the kumi-"

"Please don't remind me. The amount of maana it'll take to permanently change that thing will leave me exhausted, especially for what the fox is asking for."

Erika gave him a perplexed look which caused human to further explain.

"Resistance enchantments are special in that they're compatible with other types of magic. While my resistance spells to earth or fire may not be as good, they're still top quality in the market."

"How much do they sell for?"

"It's up to the enchanter to set up the fee. I usually aim for a five thousand minimum."

Before Erika could question more, Kero threw open the doors. He looked around and headed toward Ezarel.

"There's...Anya...Children..."

"Breathe, Kero," Erika said.

"Another piece of info came in... might have to do with the kids...Anya's been missing for a while. Last seen in the forest outside HQ."

"...Thank you. Now go get a glass of water or something," Ezarel said. "Erika, let's go."

"To the forest?" She found it easier to keep up with him thanks to Cameria's exercises. Erika marveled on how a seemingly endless horizon of pine-like trees gave way to different species of plants. Her trips were always near the edge of the forest to gather herbs that her familiar failed to find. The two split up but came back with nothing.

"Should we retrace our steps?"

"If we didn't find clues here, what makes you think-"

A loud scream interrupted Ezarel. The sound echoed from the deeper parts of the forest, and they ran in that direction. Upon reaching a forest clearing, a sable canine circled around a crying turtle humanoid. Before she reacted, Ezarel pulled Erika behind a tree. A pungent stench threatened to make her vomit her lunch.

"What's going on?"

"It's a Black Dog with a kappa out of all things. How troublesome..."

"Do we have a plan?" She spied the dog's constant circling toward the child. Though it showed no signs of pouncing the kappa, Erika felt worried of what could happen.

"I do, but Black Dogs can easily tear a limb off...Are you willing to be a distraction?"

"You mean bait? What about you?"

"If things go wrong, I'll give you time to grab the child and run. I've dealt with them before."

"But...! All right. Should I hold anything or..."

He handed her a broken branch from the ground. She took a deep breath and approached the Black Dog. Erika waved the branch when the canine noticed her. It growled. Erika's pulse sped up as the Black Dog moved toward her. She continued to move the stick. Erika slowly adjusted her position. What was Ezarel doing?

Something flew and pierced the Black Dog's shoulder. Its attention shifted from Erika; two more projectiles lodged themselves into the dog. Upon closer inspection, she realized they were arrows made of pure ice. The Black Dog snarled and sprinted to where Ezarel was, but a miniature whirlwind knocked the creature against a tree. It stood up. As an arrow materialized in his hand, Ezarel pulled back the bowstring. Bits of frost covered his fingers. This time the projectile left a scratch on the beast's nose. The Black Dog emitted a growl before it turned and fled. Erika sighed in relief, but she noticed a pair of feet in the bushes.

The bow of ice dissipated. Ezarel rubbed his hands together and saw Erika hunched over something. Then, she vomited.

"I know kappas don't have the greatest smell, but-"

"It's...not that." She covered her mouth, and nausea continued to upset her stomach.

When he found the cause of her discomfort, he frowned. "Well, I guess we know why Anya was missing for so long," he said.

"How can you be so calm?! Someone's dead!"

"This isn't the first time I've seen a corpse."

"Do you...think she was the reason for...the children's disappearances?"

"Anya? No. I think she was investigating like us, but something happened. And I doubt a Black Dog would be smart enough to remove all clothing and whatever objects she had on her. This state of decay means she's been dead for more than a week." At the sight of Erika's expression, Ezarel frowned. "I have a responsibility as a member of the Guard of Eel to complete my missions, regardless of what happens in the process. Even if I had to kill my lover for the safety of all Faeries, I would do it without hesitation."

"Wouldn't you try to save both first?"

"Ideally, but when have circumstances ever been ideal?"

"Ez...you actually believe that?"

"I don't allow myself to think more about it than I have to. It's better that way." He held out his hand. "Can you walk?"

Erika reached but soon flinched when their fingers brushed against one another. "Why is your hand cold?"

"I'm not proficient in ice spells. There's always a risk that I could accidentally freeze myself to death."

"Could've you used wind to do something? Or actual water to attack?"

"Those elements are only good for defense. Do you want me to go to the infirmary with you?"

"I-I'm fine."

"Well, I'll be heading to the Crystal Room after this," he said. "Erika, go tell Kero about Anya's status."

She watched him kneel to the kappa; he spoke in a soft voice. The child stopped crying and allowed Ezarel to pick him up. His earlier words repeated themselves in her mind while they returned to the headquarters. She found Kero who responded in a bitter smile about Anya's death. He encouraged her to visit the infirmary, but Erika opted to do more work in the library.

 **A/N: I wasn't fond of how in the game, characters never really used magic or even tried to give a reasonable justification on why no one used magic. The game is "fantasy" right? Oh well.**

 **During the Primordial Wars, the founders of Elemental Magic known as Elementum to the Faeries, used all their maana to create these powerful, "Magus Weapons" in hopes to defeat the humans:**

 **A shield cradled in vibrant flames,**

 **A bow of ice protected in the waves' embrace,**

 **A spear housed by trees and rocks,**

 **A set of knives carried along a breeze's mercy,**

 **A sword born in the womb of darkness, nurtured by the light, and sang a lullaby by sound.**

 **In fear of these weapons being destroyed, the Elementum successors developed a field of magic known as "Weapon Manifestation." This allowed users of elemental magic to create a copy of the Magus Weapons. Unfortunately, the second warring period in Eldarya led to the disappearance of these original Magus Weapons. They're somewhere in the land, because if they were destroyed, the art of Weapon Manifestation would cease. Some hope to find the Magus Weapons again. And while Weapon Manifestation continued to develop to where other elemental weapons (a bow of fire, a lance made of ice, etc.) are available, their strength and splendor can't compared to the projected copies of the Magus Weapons.**

 **Weapon Manifestation is categorized in the "superior tier" of magic. Typically there are two stages of development for the elemental weapons, but the spells to conjure copies of the Magus Weapons have three. Ezarel's bow of ice is at Stage Two. Perhaps if he focused more into improving his ability in Weapon Manifestation he could become one of the few people to use Stage Three. Using the bow of ice as an example, here's the difference between the stages:**

 **Stage 1, or Mistress Odette's Sonata, is where it's a simple but elegant bow. It requires the user to supply arrows, and the arrows turn into magical ice arrows when they touch the bow string.**

 **Stage 2, or Skadi's Lament of Judgement, is an intricate bow. A lot of maana is needed to not only create the bowstring but also drawing the water in the air to create the magical ice arrows.**

 **Stage 3, or Benevolent Fury of Hel, is a copy which closely resembles the original Magus Weapon for the water element. It acts more like a staff/stave than an actual bow. In resting or "standby" position, five wisps sit behind the user. When put into a 180 degree position or horizontal position in front of the user, the wisps turn into arrows and will shoot continuously straight ahead. If in a 45 degree position, the wisps will become projectiles that home onto a target. In the 90 degree or vertical position, the wisps combine into one giant arrow that is shot into the air; upon descent, the arrow splits into a large volley of smaller arrows. Each arrow will freeze anything it touches.**


	8. Chapter 8

"Something on your mind?"

The hamadryad swung her practice sword. Erika blocked it and dodged Cameria's kick. Cameria parried Erika's attack.

"You can tell?"

"Your strikes are weaker. Why don't we take a break and talk?"

Erika set aside the wooden sword and plopped to the ground. She fanned herself while Cameria sat nearby. With some coaxing, Erika retold the events with the kappa and Ezarel. She answered any questions and appreciated Cameria's understanding. Once Erika finished, it were as if a weight was lifted off her mind.

"Considering it's Ezarel, I'm not surprised. He should go on vacation already," Cameria said.

"Wouldn't that mean asking Miiko?"

"Oh, that's true. You know, he used to follow her with some enthusiasm."

"What happened?"

Cameria shrugged. "I don't know the exact details. Simply put, he expected too much and was met with disappointment. I'd say she's the reason he's so...you know. Ezarel used to be our resident jokester, but now he just locks himself in the alchemy lab and only leaves when necessary."

They concluded training earlier than usual. As Erika walked the steps to the library, a familiar stench drifted into her nose. She tried not to inhale deeply and found her guess correct: the kappa was the source. The child clapped after Ykhar closed the book in her hands. She waved in Erika's direction.

"Do you want to read a story to him or work?" She picked another book from the growing pile at her side.

"I'll handle the paperwork. Are you…babysitting?"

"Until Kero finalizes the preparations so Chrome can take the child back home."

Erika sat at the table and worked on completing the papers. She cleaned, organized, took inventory to keep herself busy. Ykhar continued to entertain the kappa. The day slow day moved like molasses for Erika; she felt the menial task of organizing Ezarel's alchemy reagents made time pass faster. She grimaced that her clothes smelled like the kappa.

"You didn't think to shower before coming here?"

To her surprise, Ezarel made a comment when she let herself into the laboratory. He would be too busy with his work but left a list of tasks for her to complete. She attempted to make some conversation before; long silences followed when there wasn't more to be said. He tossed a fancy bottle at her. Erika noticed the its top and sprayed herself. A scent of lavender permeated into the room; Ezarel sneezed.

"Didn't even bother to see if you liked the scent," he said.

"It doesn't matter as long as I don't smell gross. What's the task today?"

"Just prepare some basic elixirs. You can leave early if you want."

"Do you want the bottle back?"

"Keep it. It's too potent for market use, but it covers that awful odor quite nicely."

"You guys sell make up?"

"It's something the previous leader of Absynthe came up with. They fetch a high price better than a top-grade potion."

Erika nodded while she set up the test tube holders. She found the instruction sheet Ezarel wrote; she admired how even in her language, his handwriting retained an elegant appearance. At this moment, the elf rested against a char and leaned back.

"Hey Ez...why does everyone speak in the human language?"

"Oh, now you ask. What if I told you it's a mere illusion spell with some telepathy?"

"...You have to try harder than that."

"At least you're smarter than the recent rookies I've been getting. To answer your question, it's because all Faeries here wear an item that does an automatic translation."

"You're hearing me speak in elvish?"

"No" —Ezarel dug into his pocket and showed her a small necklace— "but whenever you speak, this allows me to understand what you're saying. It also allows for whatever I say be translated into a language you understand. However, I learned most of the human language at a young age, so it's useless in that regard."

"So not everyone knows?"

"Only those who were born to poor families, but we offer classes to help them catch up."

"And does the necklace have an enchantment?" Erika dropped a colorless pill into a flask and shook it.

"It's the work of two enchantments. The quintessence spell manipulates the sound, and the Psyche magic does the rest."

She poured a green liquid into each test tube. "I see. Also, can I ask for a favor?"

"What's going to make me consider doing this favor?"

"The amusement in my struggle of learning a language?" Once Erika set the test tubes over a fire, she gave one of Ykhar's homework assignments to him. Ezarel skimmed through the paper.

"Do you expect me to praise you?" He returned it to Erika.

"I want you to be a sort of tutor? I mean, when you aren't busy or if it's days where neither of us have much to do..."

"Put this in a drawer." He held out the necklace to her.

With confusion, Erika did so and showed him where it was. When he responded in his elvish tongue, dread crept into her heart. Because he spoke so fast, she only picked out a few words. She thought of a reply, but his expectant stare added more pressure. Words fell clumsily out of her mouth. He spoke slower, yet again, Erika barely understood anything. At some point, Ezarel burst out laughing when she agreed to what he said. Relaxed and rich—it was sweet, pleasing to the ear. Erika, however, focused on the growing dismay in her mind. He stood up and retrieved the necklace.

"Okay, I'll agree. But I won't make it as easy as Ykhar's lessons," Ezarel said before he let out another chuckle.

"…Thanks. But...did I agree to something I wasn't supposed to earlier?

He removed the test tubes from the fire and as he touched each one, the liquid became frozen. "No, but you just made my day."

 **A/N: I wonder if it's obvious who the pairing is, haha.**

 **All official members of the Guard of Eel are given that necklace. It's to communicate with comrades and civilians, but the Light Guard encourages learning a language in case the necklace is lost or the member has to travel to a different continent. The necklace's magic is limited to the City of Eel.**


	9. Chapter 9

"Valkyon. Let's get along in the future."

"I invited him to give you a better experience for handling weapon combat," Cameria said. "Though it'll only be practice rounds, treat it as though you're in a fight for survival."

Erika gulped as she looked between Valkyon and the wooden spear in his hands. Cameria taught her how to use her physique to her advantage, but intimidation shook the fight-or-flight response. Valkyon readied himself into attacking position while Erika attempted to ease the anxiety which ate away at her conscious. For the first round, she was defeated within ten minutes; however, each successive round led to her lasting longer. Valkyon said very little about her mistakes, but Erika learned to read his movements. She dodged another attack and managed to hit back. Cameria shouted encouraging words during the duel.

"Hah!" Valkyon slammed his weapon.

Erika jumped back but lost her footing; she fell and twisted her ankle.

"Are you okay?" Cameria raced toward Erika. "Can you stand?"

When Erika put weight on her left foot, sharp pain bared its fangs. She shook her head. Before either she or Cameria said anything, Valkyon picked up Erika in a princess carry.

"Uh..."

"You can't walk right? I'll help you to the infirmary," he said.

Erika, too stunned and embarrassed, allowed him to carry her. He made no attempt to converse, and she was glad. Once he lay her on one of the beds, Valkyon said the nurse would be with her soon. He made a short apology before he left. With the company of jars filled with oils and mixtures of herbs, Erika waited. True to his words, a female elf appeared. Her uniform was similar to the priest character from a video game.

"...Erika, yes?"

The soft but aloof voice snapped Erika out of her gawking at the elf. She nodded.

"Eweleïn. I'm the head nurse."

"Are there other nurses or doctors?"

"Yes, but they're busy treating other patients or helping patients in distant lands."

"Ah...And how did you know my name?"

Eweleïn took Erika's swollen ankles into her hands. She applied pressure which caused Erika to wince.

"Ezarel...mentioned you a few times." A rainbow-colored swirl of energy surrounded Erika's ankle. The swelling stopped. When she pressed against it, Erika found the pain was gone. "You're good to go."

"Thank you. Can I ask how you did that?"

"I specialize in the element of quintessence which is mainly used in healing spells," Eweleïn said. "Anything else?"

Erika stood up and tested her newly-healed ankle. She thanked the elf again before she left to go help Ykhar. She found her with an upset face. Ykhar explained how Chrome returned from the mission last night but lost the ship in the process. Erika remembered the dog-eared boy as Ykhar rambled on how she had fill out more paperwork to replace the ship.

"He's made mistakes in the past?"

"I'm worried he'll get kicked out of the Guard at this rate. But I'm happy Leiftan is defending him," Ykhar said.

"Really?"

"He promised Chrome would get the lightest punishment possible, and Miiko always puts his words into consideration."

Another easy day of cleaning books led to frustration with Ezarel. Rather, Erika didn't expect him to be the college professor renowned for the destruction of hopes and dreams. That wasn't to say he was bad; his feedback allowed Erika to better understand the elven language. Her handwriting, for example, appeared more like tasteful calligraphy than scrawl.

"What made you come here, Ez?" She started to clean a spill on one of the tables. They finished the tutoring session for the day.

"The upper echelons always left a bitter taste in my mouth."

"But you mentioned how your family are also aristocrats?"

"My family had its roots as traveling merchants. The true nobles and their stiff etiquette...They don't deserve my respect," he said.

"And your parents? Do you still keep in touch?"

"As their only child, they accepted my decision. But I haven't sent a letter recently. Too busy."

"...You should. I'm sure they'll be h-happy."

Ezarel placed his list on the desk and noted Erika had stopped cleaning. She clenched the towel in her hand and rapidly blinked. When she noticed him, Erika looked away.

"Anything else for me to do?"

"...No," he said.

She nodded. "I'll be leaving then. See you later."

Before he said something, the doors to the laboratory closed. Ezarel sighed as she forgot to put away the cleaning supplies.

 **A/N: You know, there were times I would delete drafts and give up trying to continue this AU I had, haha. I felt it was too ambitious and it didn't really catch the interest of anyone. But seeing the comments, follows, etc. encouraged me to keep writing. So, though I sound like a broken record saying "thanks" and all, I'm really grateful some of you actually are interested in my ideas. Also, I do go back and edit previous chapters, so I encourage to look back on those once in a while. I've made some changes and decided to add some "supplemental" information in the A/N for the lore. Basically, it's stuff that won't be explicitly** **presented in this story or any other routes of this AU . After all, worldbuilding is just the backdrop for the characters, right?**


	10. Chapter 10

When Erika reported to the alchemy laboratory, she was greeted to a sleeping Ezarel with stacks of reports at his feet. How long had he been like that? With hesitance, she reached out to tap his head; however, he grabbed her wrist before she could do so.

"I know very well how one's misery beckons for company. Are you trying to show sympathy...or pity?" His grip started to hurt. She tried to shake him off but failed.

"Please, let go..."

His eyes regained clarity, and he retracted his hand. "My apologies. I thought you were...someone else."

"Oh." Erika checked her wrist to see if there was bruising. "...Have you been sleeping enough lately?"

"It's only because I bothered to enchant that fox's item. The process of permanent enchants is exhaustive, and I would have preferred to rest, but then another mess had to happen."

While the kidnappings lacked a satisfiable conclusion, no children disappeared; however, cases of missing familiars and members of the Guard were under investigation. It started with the reported death of a bugbear named Cryllis. There was no pattern in later victims besides their vanishing in the same forest. Ezarel finished his explanation and scoffed at Erika's face.

"You want to help, don't you?"

"Do I have to fill out another appeal?"

"No, this is the type of mission where I have to give approval. But what will you do if there's another dead body? Or multiple for that matter?"

"...I won't force myself to look at them. You could let me handle something else also," Erika said. "It just doesn't feel right to sit around when stuff like this happens."

He let out an exasperated sigh and agreed to Erika's participation. After Ezarel chugged a potion to boost his energy, they reviewed the reports again. Bones and dried blood were collected, but the locations spanned the entire forest. Search parties were sent out, but their reports had too much variation. Miiko ordered a halt to them because one or two members would be gone upon return.

"I think whoever's causing this is using memory manipulation spells at least," he said.

"Are there ways to reverse the effects?"

"Potions can only effect basic spells unfortunately. The best solution is to kill the source. It's how Psyche magic works most of the time."

"...Does death always have to be involved?"

"My apologies, but you have to be the expert diplomat to get a hostile party to willingly agree. And that's assuming they're still sane."

"Isn't there a spell to restore sanity?"

Ezarel gave her a bitter smile. "Even magic has its limits. Let's make a trip to the forest, yes?"

They returned to her room so she could put on the cloak.

"But didn't you say-"

"What Miiko doesn't know won't hurt her. It's worked before," Ezarel said.

They arrived at the outskirts of the forest, and Erika noticed his grimace. He noted the air acted as if it wanted to hide something. She suggested they split up, but he refused. As they investigated, Ezarel wrote his observations. Erika began to have this nagging feeling during their exploration.

"Do you think we've been going in circles for a while now?" She kicked a rock that hit a familiar tree.

"What do you mean?"

"Look, the same fork in the path is up ahead. I think-"

Erika lost her footing to an upturned tree root. She caught herself. Ezarel scanned their surroundings while she saw her knee was scraped.

"There's a clearing up ahead."

"Since when?" Erika looked behind her.

Nonetheless, she followed him. In this clearing stood a tree different from the forest vegetation. A small voice caught her attention; she couldn't find the owner. Before she took a step forward, something grabbed her arm.

"Ez, what-"

Erika screamed as she saw what grabbed her. To her gratitude, Ezarel pulled Erika away from the hamadryad.

"Who are you?" The elf put himself between the two.

"...I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...Yvoni."

"What were you going to do with her?"

"N-Nothing. I-I thought if s-she knew...The s-scary man..."

She trembled at Ezarel's gaze. He asked several questions but the hamadryad continued to give incoherent responses.

"Can you show us how to get out of the forest?" Erika withheld the frustration inside of her.

Yvoni told them the directions, and Ezarel promised to return later. As they left, Erika tripped again, but he caught her.

"Stupid tree roots..."

"Is that really your main concern?"

"I don't remember being so clumsy," she said.

"Not that. I'm concerned that you didn't notice it as we left." Erika gave him a confused expression, so he continued. "You mentioned how we were going around in circles, right? Yet why is it when after meeting that hamadryad we followed a path without hindrance?"

They stopped in front of the alchemy laboratory. "...You're suspecting her? Ez, I doubt she could harm a fly."

"But it's still a possibility," he said.

"Yvoni is innocent until proven guilty. That's how it is in my world."

* * *

"Valk."

"Ezarel. Did you already have lunch?"

The two leaders met each other in the middle of the hall. A two-handed sword was strapped to Valkyon's back. He removed his helmet as it felt too hot.

"I'm waiting for someone, but she's rather late."

"Is this person always late?"

"No. Ykhar usually-"

Ezarel trailed off as a familiar hood moved in the corner of his eye. Valkyon followed the elf's line of sight, but he lost the person as more people entered the facility.

"Valk, are you busy at the moment?"

"No."

"Good. Accompany me."

They tailed the figure until the person strolled into the forest. Ezarel was about to follow, but Valkyon held him back.

"Miiko said we need to discuss things before going in here again," he said.

"Do I look like I care? You're free to return to HQ if that's what you desire. And don't touch me."

Ezarel removed Valkyon's hand and headed into the forest. Valkyon rolled his eyes and followed him. The two spotted the hooded figure; the trailing turned into a chase when the individual noticed their presence. Valkyon kept speed with the person, but she vanished at a certain point. Ezarel panted as he caught up to his companion.

"Where..."

"Ran through here and vanished."

"...Oh? No signs of teleportation?"

Valkyon shook his head. Ezarel clicked his tongue and turned his attention to the pathway in front of them.

"Be prepared," he said.

"...Why?"

The elf walked along the path; he disappeared in the same fashion as the hooded figure. Valkyon stood dumbfounded until an arm manifested out of thin air and pulled him forward. A grotesque scent hit his senses as he took in the surroundings. No longer did the forest appear peaceful; blood dripped from leaves onto the foliage. Dried corpses hung from trees.

"And that girl thought I was wrong to suspect the hamadryad." Ezarel shook his head. "But to be able to create an illusion of this scale..."

"Who? Ezarel, we need to report to Miiko about this."

"What's this 'we' you speak of? You can go back. I plan to find the person who led us here."

"How come?"

"...I'm worried." He used a soft tone, and Valkyon wouldn't have heard it were he not actively listening.

The duo stepped over the puddles of intestines and rotting limbs. When they were within walking distance of a clearing, Ezarel pulled Valkyon to the side and discussed a strategy. Meanwhile, Yvoni watched in delight as more of the mark on her tree was removed. She knew the girl that came with the blue-haired elf was an easy target. A rustling noise distracted Yvoni from her thoughts as an unfamiliar person appeared. His white hair was as almost unique as the girl's eye color.

"Did you get lost?" Yvoni tilted her head.

"I was looking for my friend. Oh, that's her." He pointed at the girl who continued to erase more of the mark. He took a step in her direction, but a large branch blocked his path.

"She's doing me a favor. Why don't you come back later?"

"What if I refuse?"

"Well, that would be a shame, wouldn't it?"

A series of ice arrows then pierced Yvoni's tree. She yowled, and Valkyon punched the hamadryad in the face. Another arrow wounded her shoulder; Yvoni focused her attention on the attacker. One of her branch-like appendages knocked the person out of the tree and wrapped itself around his throat. Meanwhile, Valkyon grabbed Erika who still had a dazed look in her eyes and sprinted away. Yvoni hissed at their escape but focused on her current prey. She brought the struggling elf closer.

"I remember you. You...really made sure to fulfill your promise." The grip around his neck tightened as he gasped for air. "Do you have some...final words?"

"Do you really think...I would sacrifice myself for them?"

Yvoni spotted white particles on her branches. Soon, she realized snowflakes descended upon them. Each speck transformed into a beautiful blossom. When more flowers sprouted, she dropped Ezarel whose hair began to turn silvery-white.

"What are these?"

He slowly got to his feet and rubbed his arms. "W-Why s-should I tell you?"

Yvoni tried to grab him but felt a sharp pain. The flowers' roots had hooked themselves onto herself and her tree. She destroyed one; however, more sprouted, and Ezarel took that chance to escape.

* * *

"We have to go back!"

Erika attempted to loosen Valkyon's grip on her. When they reached the edge of the forest, she returned to her senses. She remembered how a coaxing voice urged her to help Yvoni, so she followed it. What she didn't expect was Valkyon's explanation of the events.

"Ezarel will be fine. Miiko needs to be informed of what's going on." Valkyon tried to pull Erika along, but she refused to move.

"You tell her then."

Seeing that she had no intention to return, Valkyon grumbled and told her to bring Ezarel to Eweleïn if he showed up. Erika agreed and waited. And waited. Impatience, stress, what-if scenarios— she decided to search for him.

To her luck, Erika bumped into Ezarel as she wandered around the area. He collapsed in her arms, and she shivered as a coldness seeped from his body.

"Ez, what happened?" The elf responded with a groan. "...We're meeting up with Valkyon and Miiko in the infirmary, okay?"

He leaned on Erika while she supported him. They entered the room; Eweleïn helped Ezarel onto a bed.

"Do I need a hypothesis for your current condition?"

"If I didn't...we'd h-have to waste t-time tracking her down again." He turned on his side as a blanket was draped over him. Eweleïn told one of the junior nurses to fetch more.

"What are you two talking about?" Miiko frowned.

"The Garden of Cocytus. It's an ancient hex where a snowstorm releases Judecca Blooms. After they've identified a 'host,' the flowers will drain all the maana from that person. We can't leave them be, however. The flowers will always search for a new host, and the entire forest will be killed eventually," Eweleïn said.

"What do we do then?" Erika asked as she watched Ezarel shudder beneath a pile of blankets.

"If you burn the current host before all their maana is drained, the flowers will die off."

"...Understood. Valkyon, Erika, the three of us will head to the forest and end this," Miiko said.

"But Ez-"

"Don't worry. I'll help him get through the consequences of using such advanced magic," Eweleïn smiled at Erika. "Return safely, all of you."

* * *

 **A/N: I never imagined I would get this far in writing, haha. Regardless, I'm sure all of you can guess what'll happen next, right? Don't forget to review!**

 **So, the current magic in Eldarya works in tiers: basic, advanced, superior. Let's say for the purposes of explaining, the average Faerie has 100 Maana Points (MP). Basic spells would be simple tasks like summoning a fireball or using telepathy that cost 5-10 MP. Advanced spells would range from summoning a firestorm, using two fireballs, or possessing someone which cost anywhere from 15-50 MP. Superior tier is where the costs can be 51-100+ MP or "uses 2 MP per second so long as the spell is active" instances; an example would be Weapon Manifestation. If a Faerie used a spell that cost more than their max maana, he/she will experience adverse effects, but it differs on the individual and what spell was used. Though, some spells will give the caster side effects regardless.**

 **Faeries get their maana from food, but some races can get it in other ways. Elves gather maana from outside sources like plants or the air (like how leaves absorb sunlight), and some even engraved magical tattoos on their bodies to increase efficacy in gathering maana. Another example is that vampires get their maana through blood, but they can use the maana in blood to cast spells. Like imagine using blood to create a tornado or brainwashing someone. A little off-topic, but the Great Crystal ensures fertile soil for plants to grow, though at the moment crop yields aren't as high due to past events.**

 **Since magic has moved away from the rune system, it mainly centers around incantations. The purpose of the rune system was to strengthen the spell prior to casting. If a spell could do 100 damage, a rune would be the 1.5x boost factor to make the spell do more damage. The drawback was that it takes numerous resources to create runes, and the art of runecrafting was supposedly lost when human groups such as the Illuminati, Triad, and Templars organizes massive hunts to capture groups of Faeries during the Primordial Wars.**

 **Incantations work in allowing the Faerie to focus his or her mind to use the maana that's stored in the body. Superior tier spells have longer incantations than basic spells.**

 **If a Faerie has a great control over his or her magic, they can bypass using incantations entirely. Think of incantations like a safety blanket or insurance that the spell is going to work and not backfire.**

 **Of course, using incantations means the spell takes longer to activate. For those who lack control over their magic, it's optimal to use incantations to prevent the spell going wrong or using more maana than what the spell would normally cost. Imagine a Faerie who's not good at using fire magic casting a fireball. Normally, a fireball would cost 3 MP when an incantation is used or when someone who is proficient in using fire magic uses it. This Faerie that lacks control can still make the fireball spell cost 3 MP if he or she uses an incantation, but if not, the cost would be 9 MP—triple the normal amount.**


End file.
